Ingredients

  • 8 cups Water
  • 1/2 whole Onion (quartered Or Choped)
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 1 cup Green Or Red Pepper
  • 2 whole Tomatoes
  • 1 pound Chicken
  • 2 cubes Chicken Bouillon
  • 2 whole Potatoes
  • 2 whole Sweet Potatoes, Chopped
  • 1 whole Squash, Chopped
  • 3 whole Carrots, Chopped
  • 2 stalks Celery
  • 2 whole Ripe Plantains (Brown Or Black), Sliced
  • Chopped Onion, To Serve (optional)
  • 1 whole Lime, Juiced, To Serve (optional)

Method

  • To make the soup base:
  • Boil the water; Add onion, garlic, green pepper, and tomatoes. You can cut these as big or small as you like.
  • When the water starts to boil, add chicken and bouillon cubes. Cook chicken for 20 minutes in low boiling water. After 20 minutes, take out the chicken set aside. Take out the chunks of onion, garlic and peppers and put in a blender; blend until smooth. (Leave the hole in blender top OFF, or it will make a big mess!) If you want to skip this step, then chop all the above veggies and skip the blender. (This is how my mother-in-law's mother does it!)
  • Put the blender mixture back into the pot with the water.
  • Take chicken and start shredding it and add to the soup at the very end.
  • Add all the cut up veggies. You can add as many varieties as you want. I add the harder veggies first. I also eyeball how many veggies I use, usually 2 or 3 of each. Let this cook for about 20 more minutes on medium to medium low heat with the cover on. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Add the shredded chicken, put the cover on for another 5 minutes, and enjoy.
  • Note: Cut up an onion and combine with the juice a lime, let set for 5-10 minutes, and add to soup before you eat it. This gives it an awesome flavor. Also, adding cotija cheese (Hispanic cheese) makes the flavor pop.
  • I also use this same soup base for chicken noodle soup.